Celebrating a bang-up first year—by the numbers
Wow, cake decorating has come a long way! It was tasty, too.
Forgetting a birthday is an unforgivable sin in most families. But at the Museum, we were so caught up in our Canada Day programming that thoughts about our first birthday got pushed to the back of our collective mind. Luckily, somebody at the office was on the ball and we held a brief celebration with the whole Bank Communications Department the following Tuesday morning. There was plenty of cake and plenty to celebrate.
In 2017, in the first 6 months of operation, we welcomed 40,000 people through our doors; in our first full year our visitor numbers pushed past 70,000. That’s a 91 per cent over the numbers from our last year before closing (pause while the audience claps). And for icing on the birthday cake, we logged nearly as many guests for our 2018 Canada Day event as we clocked for those coming through the doors during our grand opening.
Our first birthday was the hottest Canada Day in recent memory. But we still welcomed over 2,700 visitors.
Both of those times, and for all the times in between, our Visitor Services Team rose to the challenge. Most of our first year’s events drew—easily—double the numbers of their 2012 counterparts, as we welcomed people for a broad variety of activities and themed programming on topics from tulips to counterfeiting. Police officers, artists, trappers, currency experts and our own curators popped in to help make the programming a success with speeches, displays and tours. For Doors Open 2018, our numbers were a whopping four times the figures we saw the last time we participated in this event, with visitors showing a surprising appetite for the guided tour format. Growing interest in guided tours has prompted us to add them to our 2018 summer season schedule. Drop by and check them out.
During our Winterlude events, fur trapper and educator Archie Martin displayed trapping artifacts while he told stories about the fur trade.
RCMP Corporal John McMath manages some very curious crowds at the counterfeit kiosk during Fraud Prevention Month.
Artist and teacher Monique Martin giving an origami workshop at our Canadian Tulip Festival program.
Running a museum is always going to be a learning process, but year one is especially intense. It’s when you learn that demonstrating the stain resistance of polymer bank notes results in guides with blue fingers; it’s how you figure out just how quickly complimentary ice cream can disappear on the hottest Canada Day on record; where you see that people really, really like to touch props and artifacts (particularly soft, furry ones); and how you discover that in an age of do‑it‑yourself museum tours, lots of folks still like a little knowledgeable guidance. Next year’s learning curve should be slightly flatter. Or not...
Over 6 metres long and displaying 400+ artifacts, our digital touch wall came online in December. It’s one of the biggest of its kind in North America.
The touch wall might be cool, but visitors still love to handle artifacts when they get a chance. Touching a salt brick at the Tulip Festival.
Our favourite visitors were the Ice Hogs, Winterlude’s own furry celebrities.
Nobody takes a selfie where they’re not having fun: Canada Day 2018.
OK, I just tooted our horn for over 600 words and I did it mostly with statistics (we are a central bank museum, after all). Still, thanks for your patience with our shameless bragging and an even bigger thanks for your wonderful patronage during our first year of operation. You deserve a slice of cake as well, but I’m afraid we finished it all.
We want to hear from you! Do you have an idea for a blog post you’d like to see?
Content type(s):
Blog posts
The Museum Blog
March 22, 2023
Security printing is a game of anticipating and responding to criminal threats. Counterfeiting is a game of anticipating and responding to bank note design. This cat and mouse relationship affects every aspect of a bank note.
Security is in the bank note
By: Graham Iddon
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Economy,
Financial literacy
Grade level(s):
Grade 07 / Secondary 1,
Grade 08 / Secondary 2,
Grade 09 / Secondary 3,
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
February 2, 2023
From design to final product, bank notes and coins can be used to explore and teach art, media and process.
Teaching art with currency
By: Adam Young
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Arts,
Education
Grade level(s):
Grade 05,
Grade 06,
Grade 07 / Secondary 1,
Grade 08 / Secondary 2,
Grade 09 / Secondary 3,
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
January 20, 2023
It’s a new year—the perfect time to look back at some notable artifacts the Museum added to the National Currency collection from 2022. Each object has a unique story to tell about Canada’s monetary and economic history.
New Acquisitions—2022 Edition
Content type(s):
Blog posts
December 6, 2022
The dollars and cents we use wouldn’t be worth anything to anybody if we didn’t have confidence in it. No matter if it’s gold or digits on a hard drive, public trust is the secret ingredient in a successful currency.
Money: it’s a question of trust
By: Graham Iddon
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Economy
November 14, 2022
People on the street were randomly stopped and searched, and some were even arrested and imprisoned in an internment camp. Even German marks replaced Canadian currency in circulation—in the form of If Day propaganda notes.
The day Winnipeg was invaded
By: David Bergeron
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
History
Grade level(s):
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
October 18, 2022
The imagery on the Bank of Canada’s 1935 note series depicts the country’s rich industrial history.
Positive notes
By: Krista Broeckx
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
History
June 16, 2022
In 1812, British North America had no banks and little currency. With the prospect of war drying up supplies of coins, the government of Lower Canada decided to issue legal tender notes called “army bills” to pay for troops and supplies.
Army bills: Funding the War of 1812
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Economy,
History
May 5, 2022
What was proposed was a complete about-face from the philosophy behind recent security printing. If photocopiers could easily deal with the colours and designs of the current series, then the next series should be bold and simple.
Between tradition and technology
By: Graham Iddon
Content type(s):
Blog posts
April 21, 2022
From windmills and solar panels to electric cars, signs of the green economy are all around us. Check out our resources for how to teach about the green economy.
Teaching the green economy
By: Adam Young
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Business and careers,
Economy,
Geography,
Science,
Social studies
Grade level(s):
Grade 07 / Secondary 1,
Grade 08 / Secondary 2,
Grade 09 / Secondary 3,
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
